Disc jockeys: It's like golf, but with a Frisbee - and no carts

An estimated 3 million people play disc golf in the country, according to the Disc Golf Association, but the game is still a mystery to many.

By Liz Mineo

In 1989, Brian McNulty experienced the thrill of playing disc golf for the first time with a college friend in a New Jersey stadium. Eighteen years and a couple of hundreds miles later, he plays the sport he loves on a disc golf course he helped create in Devens.

It's been a long way for McNulty, who was 23 years old when he first heard of disc golf from his college buddy after a Grateful Dead concert at New Jersey's Giants Stadium. Now, McNulty, 41, a telesales manager with an information technology company and a Devens resident, is a disc golf fan and hopes to spread the word about his favorite sport.

"My passion for disc golf is building up as we speak," said McNulty, who grew up in Weston. "It's great exercise, it's family oriented, it's inexpensive, you can play it by yourself, and it's fun."

An estimated 3 million people play disc golf in the country, according to the Disc Golf Association, but the game is still a mystery to many.

A game created in the mid-1970s by Ed Headrick, disc golf is played much like traditional golf. Headrick had designed and patented the modern Frisbee for toymaker Wham-O Inc. in 1957, after the company bought the invention from Walter Frederick Morrison, who created a plastic flying disc inspired by a game of popcorn lid toss.

Disc golfers use a Frisbee instead of a ball or clubs and have to traverse a course with the goal of completing a "hole" in the fewest number of throws. A "hole" in disc golf is an elevated metal basket, in which the flying disc has to land.

"It's like taking a hike through the woods, but you're throwing a Frisbee trying to get it into a basket in the fewest number of throws," said John Borelli, who co-founded the Devens Disc Golf Course with McNulty. "It's a simple sport; fun and easy."

Enthusiasts praise the game because anybody can play it, regardless of age or athletic abilities, and because it's inexpensive. Most disc golf courses are free, and Frisbees can be purchased for about $3 to $15 a piece.

This year, Frisbee is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and because of the growing popularity of disc golf, it doesn't seem it's fading away from the American cultural landscape. Also, "Ultimate," a fast-paced game that blends elements of football, soccer and basketball and uses a Frisbee instead of a ball, is widely popular in high school and colleges across the nation.

The country's first disc golf course was set up by Headrick in Pasadena, Calif., in 1975. Since then, more than 1,200 disc golf courses have sprouted across the nation. The Professional Disc Golf Association boasts more than 16,000 members.

Massachusetts has 19 disc golf courses, with none located in MetroWest.

Two new disc golf courses have recently opened in the Bay State. The newest one opened in Spencer in early July. Located near the entrance to Luther Hill Park, the nine-hole course was donated by the Spencer Lions Club and includes seven par-3 holes and two par-4 holes.

The other new disc golf course is in Devens, where Borelli and McNulty dedicated many hours after work and on weekends to make it come to life. The 18-hole disc golf course opened in June.

McNulty raised close to $12,000 to open the course and worked with town and state officials to obtain the land and the permit to build the course while Borelli designed it and worked on it. Both McNulty and Borelli hope to hold the course's first tournament before the end of the year.

It's been three years since McNulty started the project of opening Devens Disc Golf Course, and he's pleased at the outcome, but acknowledged it was daunting work.

"I remember one day in 2004, my wife asked me, 'Do you really think they're going to let you build a disc golf course?"' he recalled. "I had nothing but hopes. I'm very impressed how far we've come."

The best of all, for both McNulty and Borelli, is that people are using the course as word spreads about the new facility. From his kitchen window, McNulty can see the disc golf course and he glows every time he sees a handful of people throwing discs any weekday and more on weekends.

Borelli shares the sentiment.

"Now that we're done, we hope people come and use the course," he said. "That's the fun part."

Both men take pride in the disc golf course, which they see as a labor of love, and hope their efforts help increase the game's popularity across the state. Reasons abound, said McNulty.

"It's so unique and pretty," said McNulty, of the game. "You get a good exercise, meet interesting people and have a nice walk in the middle of the woods. It's a cool thing to do."